


Spirit

by prismdreams



Category: The Flash (Comics), The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Human, Barry Isn't the Flash, Drama, Drama & Romance, Explicit Language, F/M, Falling In Love, Fantasy, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Love, Male-Female Friendship, POV Female Character, POV Male Character, POV Multiple, POV Third Person, Ratings: R, Relationship(s), Romance, Sexual Tension, SnowBarry - Freeform, Spirits, True Love, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Violence, Work In Progress, non-canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-05-04 15:47:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prismdreams/pseuds/prismdreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry Allen dealt with the life he was given. He hardly complained since he felt spoiled enough dating a girl who probably didn't know the meaning the word "work." But it didn't matter, he had his whole life ahead of him. Drifter Caitlin Snow accidentally fell into that path. Barry didn't know if it was coincidence or why she was the only one making sense of it. Snowbarry. AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

   


Barry Allen anxiously checked the time on his watch. He knew his girlfriend was going to give him another disappointed look the minute he rushed to meet her. This was an important day and he didn't want to miss it. He bit his lip, waiting for the right moment to ask his supervisor about leaving early.

This was Barry's first real job out of college. He didn't dream his life would be quite like this but his parents wanted him to be serious and not waste it away dreaming about frivolous things. It got better for him the more he lived this kind of life but he secretly wished he would have more control of his decisions.

His girlfriend of two years, Olivia Caseman, made it easy for him every time he slacked out. He didn't ask her to but she felt it was her duty to save him from a tongue lashing both of their parents would no doubt give them. Barry wondered why she put up with him. He does love her, that isn't a question; there were moments where he had thoughts of someone else. Would they be happier if both of them were with other people? Maybe she deserved better. Maybe he deserved better. She did get a little bit on his case than usual lately.

He may never know the answers, at least not right now. Barry's eyes perked up as his supervisor finally emerged from his office. Barry caught up with him, trying not to get on his bad side.

"Hey, um, hey Travis. Got a sec?" Barry asked, trying to keep himself from going out of breath to keep up.

"What is it Allen?"

"Is there any chance today I may go home early? I have something important to get to later on and—"

Travis turned around and almost crashed his body into Barry's, smirking at Barry as he caught himself.

"Did you finish your assignments?"

"No, not yet, but I will. A-as soon as I can. Can I still go home early? I don't want to miss my—"

"Allen, save it. My ass is on the line if you don't have those assignments done by today. Then you can go. Take overtime if you need to."

"Oh man Travis, today is really the day I should not be la—"

His bold blue eyes narrowed and Barry stopped talking instantly. He can really be intimidating. It wasn't right, Travis used to be a nice person, until he got promoted. Barry thought he might have his back this time. Now he barely let him finish a sentence.

"Go complete them. I don't want to present empty work, again. Whatever you are trying to get to, it can wait. Or do you wanna keep your job Allen?"

Barry kept his mouth closed, almost too tightly. His words were terse and strangled. "I do. It'll be done."

"By tonight Allen." He pointed his manila folder in his direction before backing up the other direction. "Tonight. Don't mess this up again."

Barry sighed heavily, running his fingers through his hair. He scrambled to work this morning, barely having time to shower and get changed. Everything was always starting too early for him.

It was a miracle nobody was around, he could easily leave and no one would know. But he knew as soon as he returned back Travis would have him by the neck. There was no way he was going to get out this one now. He instead excused himself silently to the break room to make a call. He felt anxious as it rang then finally relieved when the other end picked up.

"Hey, Liv, babe, are you there?" Barry's panicked voice asked.

"Barry, where are you? You are coming tonight, right?"

"Yeah I am, the thing is...I can't leave early. I'm practically the only one here and Travis has me covering his ass again. I am so tired of his shit. I have to stay here and get it done."

She sighed heavily on her end. "Does that mean no, again?"

He shook his head even if she couldn't see him. "It means I'm trying. I did not want this to happen. You believe me, right?"

"We made reservations! I hate canceling. God Barry! Can't you just tell him it's an emergency? He'll understand."

"No he won't even let me get in a word. I tried. Can I call when I know something? I feel like I may be here a while."

"Out of all the days you could be late; it had to be this one. Whatever. Alright, call. You're acting like it's so hard to just leave that place. You hate it anyway. My dad offered to help you get a job working for him. You don't have to do this to yourself Barry."

Barry bit his lip and tensed his jaw muscles. She was doing it again. Half of him wanted to hang up and not do this again. There was no way he was going to win this one. He'd have to just let her have it. Let her think she's taken care of everything. This was a huge problem for them as a couple.

"Olivia, don't do this to me. We've already talked about this; I want to do this alone. Let me make my own decisions for once."

"Your own decisions?! Ha! Barry, you know you need me most of the time. I'm just starting a truth. And it's not just you missing important things. We have a lot to talk about regarding us. I mean...oh god, please I don't want to feel this way."

Ever the doormat forgiving type, he relented and let her have the upper hand. It was a sad display how every time she's argued to bail him with an easy out, she pulled a guilt trip over his self esteem. She could be really unreasonable sometimes. He wondered why he was the one who put up with her irrational behavior.

"Then don't, look—I said I would try to be there and no, I won't take help from your dad. I could already feel the shame enough, thank you."

"Barry don't be like this, not today. We love each other. We can make this work."

He shook his head; she played this game before, but was it worth today? Was there enough good in her to continue this relationship? He fumbled with the answer. He always had a straight response to most things in life. Olivia and he were on the rocks, no doubt about it, but in his heart he wanted to make things right. He felt like now was not the time to be laughing and mocking each other. He understood her being upset, even disappointed, but jeering? This was the awful side of his girlfriend he made sure to avoid.

"OK...I don't know...I'll see what I can do, I have to get all this work done or I'm finished. Can you at least understand where I'm coming from?" He asked her, afraid of her answer as she was taking a long while to simply say something.

"I love you Barry, you know that right?"

Barry sighed. "Of course I do. I love you back. I'm trying to get to you. I promise I will make it up to you if we miss the reservation."

"Our parents are going to lose their shit but I can cover for you."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks. I'll let you know when I leave."

Olivia sighed, mocking what he'd done before. "Alright, talk to you later."

"Liv?"

"What?"

He bit his lip. "Thank you."

"Bye Barry." Olivia hung up as Barry tensed even more than he had before.

He shook his head as he charged back to his desk, going back to where he started, making sure he oversaw his tasks. He silently cursed Travis as his eyes were glued to the files in front of him. He focused on his monitor as his eyes shifted to the time in the bottom right corner.

Four hours, another four hours until his shift normally ended. He was going to finish as early as he could if he had the will power.

"Whoa, Barry, hey, didn't know you were still here." the cubicle beside him said. He recognized that as his colleague Eric but he barely acknowledged his presence.

"Yeah, hmm..." Barry's attention was a thousand percent honed in front of him. He couldn't afford to get sidetracked.

Some hours had gone by, Barry felt it was several. He was almost done and checked the time briefly. He had twenty minutes left in his corner. Taking a deep breath he pushed and pushed himself until he was completely finished. Now all that was left was waiting for the printing job to finish before gathering everything together and slapping it on the receptionist's desk. He was instructed to place his paperwork above the fax machine so it could be easier to find.

Once done he packed up his things, shut his computer down and made a monster of a beeline to the elevator. He could have sworn he heard rain. Central City hardly got much rain. If anything it was probably drizzling, maybe a few drops. Nothing he needed to worry about as soon as he was on the road. Barry secured his blazer over his shoulders just to be safe.

As soon as he made it out of the building and in the parking garage he noticed he was moving incredibly fast, much faster than he ever had. His heart was racing a mile a minute and he didn't know how to turn it off. A strange feeling peaked in the bottom of his mind and he brushed it off as quickly as it went.

All he kept thinking about was Olivia, her parents, his parents, everyone else. He focused on getting in the car and pulling out the driveway, hightailing it out of there as fast as he could. If he could run there, no way, he shook his head at that notion.

He had to zoom there if he wanted to get to the restaurant on time. That's the thing, there was never enough time to do anything. Barry always had a problem with managing his life. He could do the semi smart thing and ask his girlfriend's father but all that would do is make him feel was incompetent. The thought crossed him mind as it had many times before but he ignored it as he switched lanes and merged onto the freeway.

The rain had gotten more powerful since he stepped outside. He made sure to be extra cautious and check before changing lines to the faster lane. The irony being that was slower than the other lanes. It seemed like everyone was rushing to get home like he was.

He finally took the exit he was looking for and stopped at the red light. Panicking wasn't going to do him any good so he buried it and put his attention in front of him. The rain came down to distract his vision but he tried to suppress it by turning on the defroster and increasing the speed of the wind shield wipers. He thought the drizzle was temporary but it seemed as if it got worse the more he was on the road.

He knew the restaurant was only a few miles away so he made a silent prayer hoping he'd make it at least on time. He checked the time on the dashboard quickly and bit his lip. He looked in front of him and noticed the fog wasn't disappearing like he wanted it to. There was only a small patch of clear window where he could actually see enough to drive with.

He was five cars back and thought about it before the light changed. He took his jacket sleeve and manually cleaned the window but jumped when he heard horns behind him that almost sounded like a bunch of junkyard dogs harping at once. He rolled his eyes and pulled out to signal to make a left turn when he felt strong impact hit the right side of his car.

The pain was unbearable, like the feeling of getting punched a thousands times on every corner of his body. He couldn't move suddenly, it was like something else was pushing the vehicle as it bounced hard from the hit. Barry saw his world flipping upside down as his car turned over from the SUV hitting the passenger seat.

His eyes closed while his body slumped over from the impounding force of the crash. Straddling between awake and repose, he let the feeling take over his body as it grew more weak while the background noise seemed like distant voices in the midst.


	2. Chapter 2

Caitlin Snow sighed as she checked the time on her phone again to make sure it wasn't deceiving her. She made a mental note to decline the next time someone from work sets her up on a blind date. This wasn't a necessity for her, she valued her alone time.

Not that anyone in her life would understand. Apparently it took effort to really listen to someone these days. In Caitlin's eyes, social media has ruined the dating world. Her friends at work were keeping up with the latest apps but Caitlin didn't bother learning the trends; she didn't lead a pathetic life either. It just was, it just is, there was nothing wrong with not forcing something to happen.

She glanced around the restaurant looking at the couples, some young some older, all familiar, just not to her. Caitlin couldn't relate, she had a feeling she didn't belong here, this place was too crowded with lucky people. She didn't feel right being here since she was the only one sitting alone. She could feel the eyes of passer byes giving her the eye of judgment.

This had to have been the worst feeling. Waiting for something to happen, tapping her fingers along the dinner cloth for a sign that the risk paid off. She hated rude awakenings more than anything. This was not shocking knowing her streak of ill timed luck. Clearly people just can't tell each other they aren't interested.

Caitlin shook her head before she had a chance to ponder it over and asked for the check. She figured if she was going to stick around she might as well order a dessert. A sort of reward for being publicly rejected, she memorized this song before, hummed it in her sleep, now it was playing over in her mind like a pestering monster rendering her deaf from the noise. It is possible to be so numb from monotony. She was living proof of it.

She took the train here which made the ride back seem even more like a 3am return. It's not even most of her friends had abandoned her, she wondered if there were any real ones left. She was 28, the older she became; the more she wanted it to just make sense for once.

After paying the bill and leaving a tip which she couldn't really afford, she stood up and made her way through the bitter cold winds of Central City in the pitch black night. During Fall transitioning into the Winter time, the weather had gotten worse than she last remembered. It didn't used to be this chapped, the Fall season before had moments where she could dive in and remember for years to come. Now it was an unrecognizable battle of skies having a strangled argument with the city.

It matched her mood, the vibes of the weather probably made things worse lately Caitlin had begun to accept it. Not like she had the power to control how cold it should get but she wished it was more tolerant so she could feel normal again.

Her mind was stuck on a nice warm cup of Swiss Miss topped with marshmallows right now. Heat, she needed heat right now; the warmth and sweet softness of hot chocolate. She had thoughts of cancelling coming into work tomorrow just to recover from the reality of tonight. She preferred to be indifferent and just ignore it all together but she couldn't. She was still human, she wasn't made of ice, and she still felt things even if they didn't matter to anyone else.

She didn't want to hate life; instead it was the people that made life unbearable that she wanted to it wish away. There was a saying out there that she knew all too well: "I dare anyone to be happy. Just try." Caitlin's concluded whoever said that needed to personally reevaluate their words. You can't force yourself to be happy. The minute you "try" something manages to disrupt it. Someone, something. The only true statement that kept ringing chimes in her mind was: "nothing lasts forever but life sure felt long in spite of it."

Caitlin ironically refused to become a depressant, yet she felt like it was an option she couldn't phase out. Like most aspects of life it wasn't in her control. It was just best to avoid people, even the ones who "tried to help you." How many times did she need to hear an elder say that to her as if it was going to make a difference?

She checked the time on her phone and still frowned that were no messages from her supposed "date of the night." Being stood up wasn't supposed to sting this hard, but it did. For a long time Caitlin tried her best to do without dating, it's not that suitors were lining up for a chance with her. She had a very plain look, wore next to hardly any make up and had a permanent 15lbs she was supposed to get rid of last Thanksgiving; so much for setting unattainable New Year's resolutions. Better luck to someone else more committed. Maybe she didn't have the gumption to care or the will to make an effort.

The subway ride back was something she had to grumble through. Wasn't quite the walk of shame but it might as well be. She didn't like taking the train but the express line was the fastest way to get home, a taxi would take hours just on the wait time. You gambled with your life if you hailed a cab after 10pm.

Nevertheless Caitlin managed to get home in one piece. Her dodgy apartment had its wear and tear, no different than how it looked like when she first moved here. The bars around the windows did nothing to make tenants feel safe. You had to take safety precautions in your own hands. The burglaries rose up in months and all law enforcement did was turn a blind eye while taking tax dollars from the citizens of Central City. The thing is it wasn't really in the heart of Central City. It felt more like South Central Los Angeles than sunny forecasts and not bothering to check the deadbolt on the door twice.

Her door was clicking again. She made a mental note to tell the manager about it the next time she saw him. The walls were paper thin; you could hear whispers that made you think the place was haunted by apparitions. Caitlin smirked as she took off her coat and got changed for bed. The couple next door was at it again, Caitlin hoped they were using protection this time. She giggled when she heard what sounded like a skull thumping against the wall. Motel 6 eat your heart out. Caitlin drowned it out as usual; she huddled her shoulders and checked the thermostat. Her room always felt the coldest; it'd take a full hour for the heater to reach full power. Meanwhile Caitlin grabbed what she needed to make the Swiss Miss with marshmallows.

She tapped her fingers along the counter, looking around. The place was drafty, old and falling apart but it could have been worse so she rarely complained.

She switched on the TV and went to turn off the boiling milk, setting it aside. She got the marshmallows ready as she poured the milk over the chocolate mix, already smelling the sweet aroma in her favorite coffee cup. She doubled the amount of marshmallows this time. She deserved to get a little fat after tonight.

She was more disappointed than she was angry. It just made her feel numb to put herself out there. There was so much nonsense she didn't want to bother trying to seek it out. It's not like her would be date owed her anything, but it was fair to at least tell her he couldn't come if that was the case. It wasn't the first time Caitlin was stood up and she had a feeling it wasn't going to be her last. Guys just don't look her way unless she was in their way. Even then it barely counted.

The holidays were gloomy. They didn't have to be but Caitlin wasn't in charge of the variant of flickering moods that permeated the day. Instead she found solace in the mundane, this being one of those nights. She brought her hot coco and nestled on the couch, sitting in semi silence as the news came on. Local news was something mandatory but she found herself about to channel surf until a breaking news headline rang out that caught her attention.

"Good evening, this is Govanna Lara with an Eyewitness News brief. Breaking news: in the heart of Central City, there was a piled up on I5 near the I10 off way ramp exit. An accident stalled oncoming traffic as a young man, son of Henry and Nora Allen, of Allen Corporations, Barry Allen, 28, remains in critical condition. Allen is slated to have leaped into the intersection without looking and was hit upon side impact, causing his vitals to shut down immediately upon full force. No word yet on wither the accident was deliberate or accidental; new details to emerge as soon as Central City Police Department delve into investigation. CCPD is on location gathering evidence."

Caitlin's pursed her lips upon hearing this. The news cut away before video footage could show the victim's face more clearly. She caught a small glimpse of his face in a headshot, vaguely remembered his features. Barry Allen? She'd heard of the family, never that name.

"Rich. Lucky. Accident. That's tragic." She said aloud. Suddenly her life didn't seem so bad. "Hope he's OK."

Caitlin's ringtone vibrated and she took a few seconds to answer it; unenthusiastically.

"Hello?"

"Hello sweetie, did he show up?" It was Marne, Caitlin's co-worker.

"Whatever." Caitlin mumbled, flipping through the channels.

"Sorry honey. I did my best to fix you up with my friend's son. I apologize for his behavior tonight." she said, her middle aged voice coughed from the cigarettes she smoked earlier.

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "I don't know, I wasn't invested in it that much. I love being alone."

"Sweetheart I've been alone since Peter died, I miss him every day. He was my friend and the best person I knew. I just want amazing things to happen for you." Marne said in her librarian voice. "If I could have him back, I would, but I can't now. I wish you could have a little bit of what I had."

Caitlin phased it through just like the other times Marne stressed how she felt about Caitlin's personal life.

"It's not something you can just wish upon a star. This is not fiction Marne it's reality. It doesn't happen because you want it to. When mom was still here she would say it's either there or it's not. Still applies today."

"Your mother was a great person, I knew her before you were born. But she wouldn't have had it any other way. I don't believe she would have been happier by herself. She needed your father, just like he needed her."

 _That's the thing, nobody needs me._ "Yeah well, they aren't here. I can't hang on to that anymore."

Caitlin spent too much time worrying about her relationships; she wasn't going to push it anymore. She did this for Marie, the woman lived by herself, she had friends and family that came to visit her but they all had their own lives. Marie was truly alone and never let Caitlin forget it.

"I know. I'm sorry for bringing it up, I just feel for you. What are your plans for New Years?"

 _The usual, a bar, scoffing to myself while drunks cheer at each other, silently cry in my bed._ "I'll probably just watch the countdown and fall asleep before it all starts."

"You could come by. You shouldn't start the new year alone."

"I'll get back to you on that." Caitlin cleared her throat, changing the subject quickly. "I'll talk to you again soon; I have to go to bed."

"Alright honey, let me know if you need anything, I'm a phone call away."

"Sure thing, goodnight." Caitlin clicked off after she heard Marne say goodnight back and curled up on against the couch.

Her mind wouldn't sit still like she wanted. This night was not a good one. Not the way she hoped it would go. Wishing for something never worked out the way she wanted, not in her world. It almost felt like she wouldn't find happiness even if she did everything right in her life.

The rain came back as it tapped on the window. Caitlin noticed the window was slightly open and moved to shut it while rolling for eyes. She took in the view of the sky, how deeply blue it was even in the foggy mist of the rain cascading down. She slowly shut the window looking out of her view, one of the best things about living up top are the views that begged to be recorded for memory. Caitlin found herself staring like she had before many times. Rubbing her shoulders she wondered for a moment. Is this all her life was going to be: spectacular views while alone?

All the lights had turned off before she could mentally answer.

"Great, now this makes the night complete." Caitlin huffed, touching the surfaces to get a better feel until she could see more clearly in the dark.

She found her phone and turned on the flashlight app illuminating her way. She went to the power box to check to make sure everything was turned on. She didn't want to fiddle with it, but everything looked normal. Why did the power have to go off now?

She shook her head; walking back to the kitchen she noticed the clock was unplugged out of its socket. She picked up the cord and shocked backward so hard she fell to the ground with a thump.

All she saw was black and dark while trying to keep awake; her head hurt as she fought the sinking feeling that threatened to cover senses. They won slowly as she turned her head to the side, for a long moment she was numb to the world.


	3. Chapter 3

Barry's head ached where he lay. His abdomen didn't allow him the freedom to move like he wanted. He could only open his eyes, slowly but carefully. Blinking until they were fully open as the rest of his body felt light and airy. It was almost like he lost most of his body weight from the tightly bound sheets across his torso. He touched his body realizing he was still in his work attire. His eyes focused upward, his hand began blocking his vision.

Bright lights, it was too blinding, but he could see clearly. Looking around he saw his mother and father were sitting in the corner of the room, the doctor attempting to explain something he couldn't quite make out coherently. Barry's mind felt asleep but it was like a sting was pulling his brain to not fall completely in calmness.

How could he be calm? What was going on? Where was he? Suddenly he felt like he could move, his mind was dragging behind him as he easily slipped off the heart monitor from his finger. He could walk, but how? Nothing was making sense now.

Barry swallowed harshly as he saw his mother look right passed him, not even glancing his way. Her eyes glazed over as more tears slipped off her cheeks. His father was turning a blind eye to Barry appearing right in front of his face as he wiped his eyes. This never happened. They were never emotional over anything. He was seeing it for the first time in a long time.

How could they not see him? Barry charged forward.

"Guys? It's me. It's-it's Barry! I'm here. I'm fine. G-guys?!" Barry raised his voice even more but it was no use.

His parents were looking toward the hospital bed he laid on. Staring as if hope was on their side. It was like Barry was invisible to them.

"Guys! Mom! Dad! Dad I know you see me." Barry's incredulous voice spiked but the volume was lost on them. "Mom, come on! It's me. You know me. I'm not joking. This is—" he was cut off by them both leaving the room as they took one last look before they left.

Barry turned around in a deadly fashion. They his body lay, the real him, flesh, tone and body in the hospital bed. His mouth was hooked up to a breathing machine, bruises covered his jaw line, and he looked practically gone. Heart monitor barely steady. His vitals were stagnant. What was happening?

"This is not real, I'm dreaming. Oh god, no, no, no! Oh please no, god. This isn't happening. I'm—that's me—I'm dead. No!" He exclaimed.

Barry turned around grabbing the handle but he phased through it. His eyes expanded at the action as he lifted his hand in front of his face.

"No way." He said above a whisper, blinking slowly. "This can't be. Mom!" He stepped forward only to phase through the entire door.

He ran over to where his parents stood as they were discussing Barry's situation. His father tried to be strong but his mother looked weary.

"...Nora you know we are both too strong to give up on him. The doctor just said it was hopeless. But I still believe he could make it. Sweetheart would you look at me please?" Henry Allen spoke to his wife who was looking anywhere but her husband's eyes.

Barry focused on the scene in front of him. What were they talking about just now? What did it have to do with giving up on him? Is he really gone?

Nora Allen's attention was diverted. All she could think about was her only son laying there, hanging onto his life. Was this what Barry would have wanted? For them to keep fighting for him? Seeing them like this tore him up.

"Do you honestly think I am stable enough to discuss this Henry? He's my boy."

"He is our boy. Don't exclude me because you are being so tirelessly negligent. Even to Barry."

"Henry, this isn't the place. Barry doesn't have much time left. We do the surgeries but they won't change anything. He won't be coming back. There is no hope left. I'm not excluding you. I don't want this to be about the affair."

Barry's shocked expression came as a surprise. "Affair? Oh god. It's true. Dad said you weren't around lately."

"It isn't, I don't care anymore what you do or who you do it to. This is our son we are talking about Nora. Can't you have faith in him? You always ignored him as your own. Now it feels like we won't have him in our lives anymore. The one good thing that brought us together and made us a family. Barry needs us Nora, don't abandon him like you had so many times before."

The was all Barry could listen to. He couldn't cry in his form but he wanted to right now. He wanted to sob from hearing the truth of his parents for the first time in years. Now he didn't know what was going on, or why they never told him what happened.

He walked away from the discussion and ran directly to Olivia's apartment. He was surprised to see her home and not at the hospital watching over him. He also found it odd when he heard loud music and what sounded like a party gathering around.

Barry peered into the window before phasing inside. That phasing ability was feeling weird for him. Strange that literally no one noticed him when he walked around her apartment. Olivia never kept their place clean and this was one of the many parties he had to clean up after. Her parents let to do whatever she wanted. People thought Barry was the spoiled one, but he doesn't compare to Olivia.

He didn't see her anywhere, it looked like she was either in one of the rooms or outside on the balcony. The curtains were open as Barry walked up to the window, looking around and stopped when he saw her sitting on the edge nursing a beer and looking down.

Something was odd about the way she was looking at the ground. Her friend next to her was saying something about getting out more and Olivia rolled her eyes, laughing. Barry couldn't help but listen in. Curiosity got the better of him.

"Girl seriously, I know that Allen guy is like rich and stuff, but he's like in a coma now. How is that any type of relationship?"

Olivia frowned, placing the beer to the side and hoped off the balcony. "It's not, you're right. His parents seem to think he might make it. We've been together for a long time, Bebe, I don't know if it's easy to say goodbye in the condition he's in."

"So you're telling me, what, you actually cared about him? I thought his inheritance was what drew you guys together? Don't you remember that like ages ago? Barry is so noble he wouldn't give you the time of day since you came on strong. Then I swooped in and hooked you guys up with that charity thing Barry used to do. I was the one that started this. Shouldn't I be the one to have a say in it?"

Olivia sighed, she looked like she was considering what her friend said for a moment. Barry was in pain watching his girlfriend give up on him so easily. He should have known it was a set up. She was just like her parents. Barry wanted to give her chance because he thought she was genuine enough.

This was turning out to be the worst thing he'd ever witnessed, knowing what people in his life really think about him when he isn't around. He felt ill, there was nothing he could do, there was no use shouting, no one was going to hear him.

Barry walked out of her apartment and decided to head to his friend's place. They always got along, no reason why it'd be any different. His friend and his girlfriend lived so close. Barry crept up the stoop and phased through the door, feeling that odd tingling sensation again only more amplified; like the feeling you have when your foot falls asleep.

He heard voices, it sounded like a couple of his friends were in the master bedroom. Barry slowly walked inside almost forgetting he was an apparition, and peeked around to see his two best friends lounging on the couch, the TV was turned on as they swung back their usual liquor. Barry felt weird watching them when they couldn't see or hear them. They were in mid-conversation when Barry decided to listen in.

"So Allen is pretty much screwed huh?" Barry made out Todd's voice clearly.

"Barry? Yeah he's fucked. I don't know man, sucks for him. It's too depressing to go back to the hospital. We were gonna hang out more. Not sure, he's changed before all this happened." Eric commented, flicking over the channels.

"Oh you mean he's neglected his best friends for that girl? Don't know why he cares so much about her. It's obvious why she's with him. Barry's too much of a pussy to own that shit."

"Dude, this is Barry, I mean he's done a lot of stuff in the past that we were cool with. It's those fucking parents that fucked him up. The girl didn't help. That was clearly arranged by her dad. I still have no clue why Barry never broke up with her. She's so fucked up." Eric scoffed.

"You know what's gonna happen right?"

"What's that?"

"You know about Allen's inheritance right? Well, she's his girlfriend and I'm pretty sure if he croaks she's getting most of it."

"Seriously? Man, that's shitty. Why would he give anything to her? She was clearly with him for the money anyway. Her father is wealthy enough, now she wants to suck Allen for all he's worth, well, all his parent's worth."

Eric frowned as he stood up and threw away the bottles. "I feel bad for him. He's probably gonna die without knowing his gold digging girlfriend will get everything."

Barry smirked in a sinister manner. "He knows now."

"Don't know, people wake up from comas sometimes, do you think he has it in him?"

"He could surprise us. I wish there was a way we could find that will, maybe have his lawyers destroy it without Olivia knowing she's in it. I don't think she knows yet."

"Something tells me she does. I have a bad feeling about this."

Barry listened to every word before he found himself crouched on the ground holding his face in his hands in agony. The way his best friends talked about someone he trusted for two years, he almost didn't want to live. There was nothing he could do when he's a floating ghost. His friends went back to watching some sports event and Barry picked himself up and left the apartment before he heard anymore.

The fact that his friends knew the truth about her and didn't tell him changed everything. He realized that his whole life has been a lie and the only thing left for him to do is watch his lifeless body barely make it through the final hours.

There was no hope left, Barry walked around until he found his way on the train platform. He aimlessly phased his body through the the MTA fair detector. No way to pay if you're already dead.

He heard something behind him and turned around.

"Excuse me pardon me, running late. Move. Sorry, bye." A woman out of breath and in a hurry rushed passed him and onto the train spot.

Just before the doors open Barry narrowed his eyes. It couldn't be, could it?

"Can she hear me?" The woman turned his way looking directly at him as his eyes protruded. "Can she see me too?"

The doors to the train slid open as Barry looked on with shock and panic. He followed the woman inside the tram, getting to the bottom of this.


	4. Chapter 4

Caitlin's head felt swollen as she rose from the cool kitchen floor. It felt like her body was coming back to life from a small coma. It didn't feel real, she remembered very little, just that the night was a downer and she came home after a...date? Did that guy show up or not? Too many questions and her brain tried its best to recover. Collecting her senses she realized she slept on the ground the entire night. She checked the time on the microwave, eyes bugging out instantly.

"No fucking way. Oh shit I'm gonna get murdered now!" She exclaimed as she ran to the shower, rushing to get ready for work.

She did have a habit of coming late from oversleeping and this night was no different, but at least she had a real excuse. The almost dying part could work this time. Maybe her boss will go easy on her and jeer at someone else today; if Caitlin was lucky maybe. She had to mentally prepare herself to be lashed.

She hurried through the routine like her life depended on it and while still being half asleep. She wasn't even sure if she brushed her teeth or hair. She popped some gum after gargling with mouth wash. It would have to do for now.

She made sure to retrieve her metro train card and locked the front door before bursting out of her apartment. The clothes she was wearing passed the smell test, just barely; there were more important things to worry over. Her boss was probably going to have her head if she didn't hurry.

Her heels were about to break as she ran down the subway stairs and paid the fair at the front gate. She almost ran into a man looking about the station. A train appeared before she could raise an eyebrow at how suspicious he looked. Nevertheless, she was still courteous as she made her way passed him.

"Excuse me pardon me, running late. Move. Sorry, bye." Caitlin's out of breath voice said as she sped around him.

She found a seat that had a good view of the marker stops above the bench and took it before others had a chance to discover it. She calmed her mind down and shook her head from all the morning jitters. She didn't even have her usual coffee; this was an au natural morning that she would just have to make herself fight through.

She checked her phone for any messages from that guy. It was all coming back her to, not the first time this will happen, guys are just repelled by her for some reason. She couldn't help but think it's all her fault, somewhere deep inside it's her that has the problem. Becoming a lesbian wasn't an option. She hardly sometimes liked herself. Unfortunately she was born heterosexual, but so far, nothing stuck on the relationship game board.

"Stand clear of the closing gates please." The operating voice said to the new patrons that stepped inside.

Caitlin was about to plug her ear buds in and listen to her spotify play list when she heard a noise near her. She looked beside her and spied an elderly woman with her husband having a casual conversation. Her walking cane dropped and Her husband crouched down to pick it up as she asked him a question. Caitlin felt weird watching them. Normally she kept to herself on the tram and purposely looked around, not making eye contact with anyone specific. Maybe it was reminding her of something she had no chance at having. Something that lasts. Hope, promise. Something besides a paycheck to live for.

It was then that she felt like she was being watched. She looked around and glanced at a young man looking in her direction. It was the lost man she almost bumped into on the way here. He was clean cut, wearing a tie and matching shirt, no blazer. His puncturing green eyes narrowed her way as she averted her attention elsewhere. There was no way she was going to get manhandled when she was in danger of being fired. Her boss would think she was making up the story so she wanted to immerse herself in her play list. She prayed he'd get bored of looking at her. She wasn't exactly appealing in her eyes.

He leaned forward, his mouth hanging open as he squinted.

"You _can_ see me. C-can you hear me too?" The man with the narrowing green eyes across from Caitlin asked in an uncertain tone.

Caitlin cleared her throat, staring directly above the man's head, acting like she didn't hear or see him. She fixed on her audio, turning it up several cranks as she felt someone sit next to her.

She looked sideways and saw the man come besides her, looking her way carefully; she grew more afraid by the second. This man was obviously trying to force her to talk to him, or worse. She didn't want to concern herself with worse.

"Look if you can hear me, I don't know how but my name is Barry, my body is on life support at Central City Hospital." The man called Barry calling to her but she barely heard him over her music. "I need your help."

Caitlin removed her ear buds and moved to another seat, far away from the marker. She hated moving but she knew if she didn't then who knew what this guy Barry was going to do to her? She was surprised no one was reacting around her. Nobody was staring at both of them. That was odd.

Caitlin grabbed some gum and popped the stick in her mouth as she crossed her arms. She clutched her bag close to her body wishing she had pepper spray. This Barry guy was looking at her like he was confused about something, like he was trying to look right through her.

"You've _got_ to believe me. Please say something if you can hear me." Barry raised his voice.

Caitlin looked around and nobody was looking at them. It had to be one of those days where nobody cared to even look at the commotion in Central City. The problem was, Caitlin heard Barry a third time and he didn't sound crazy, it sounded urgent, like he really did need help. Still, it wasn't Caitlin's problem. This job was everything to her, it kept her afloat the last few months and she wasn't going to get fired just to be a Good Samaritan for the day.

She cleared her throat and pretended like she couldn't hear him. She was surprised no one could hear him practically shout out of frustration. When she turned, looking directly at him and mouthed "leave me alone". She didn't want to draw attention to herself anymore than she had. Barry needed to know his boundaries.

"I _knew_ you could hear me, now I _know_ you could see me. Look, my name is Barry Allen, there was accident last night. My body is in a coma. I just came out, like this...I can't make sense of it. I think something awful is going to happen. Please! You have to believe me, I know this sounds really fucked up but please, you're the only one who can help me."

Caitlin shared an angry look with Barry and balled her fist ready to punch this wacko if he spoke to her again. She was in no mood to deal with some guy who thinks he's dead.

"Stop." She commended softly. "Leave _me_ alone."

Barry sighed running his hand through his hair. This obviously wasn't working. There was nothing that could convince her he was telling the truth.

"If you don't believe me then I have to proof it to you. Here, watch my hand go thro..." Barry reached for her hand, actually touching it. His eyes expanded as she jerked her hand back.

"What are you doing?!" She exclaimed.

A few people were now looking onto the scene. They was looking anywhere but Barry instead directly on Caitlin.

"I can touch you. Oh my god, how is this possible? I'm dead, right? How am I able to _touch_ you?"

Caitlin shot a disgusted look on her face, making her stand up again and hold the railing. She tried to concentration on her stop; she was only a few stops away when Barry came besides her wearing a disbelieving expression on his face. He looked at his hands and Caitlin stared forward. She wasn't going to become distracted by this pervert, or worse; he could be a criminal or a doomsday jackass. Caitlin winced as her stop was called. She put more distance between her and Barry, trying to put what just happened behind her quickly.

As soon as the gates opened Caitlin sped out of there as fast as she could, away from Barry and toward work. She checked the time and she was definitely going to be late. She wouldn't have that; she forced her body to move faster than she's ever ran before and made it to the doorman, stepping inside the elevator area.

She gave a sigh of relief as she straightened her outfit and fixed her hair before moving behind her but almost crashing into a body. She looked behind her to see Barry simply standing there.

"Oh god, how is this possible?" Caitlin's shocked eyes asked.

"You tell me. I'm still trying to make sense of it. I knew exactly where you were going and I was just, _here_." He gestered.

Caitlin was about to say something when they were both startled by the elevator sounds.

The elevator doors opened and more patrons were filling inside, pushing Caitlin and Barry near each other. They both looked like they wanted to say something but couldn't find the words to explain. Who could explain something like this?

Slowly people were filing out to their floors, leaving Caitlin and Barry alone again. Caitlin gulped. There was no way this guy was telling the truth, he was playing some kind of a game. It had to be. Maybe this was the same guy who stood her up last night trying to irritate her.

"I'm not the guy who left you last night." Caitlin whipped around glaring his way. "Oh shit."

"How-how do you know that? Only Marne knows. Oh god." She grumbled rubbing her temples. This was getting stranger by the minute.

He can hear her thoughts? Or somebody must have told him. But who? She didn't talk about her personal life with anyone. There was no way Barry could have known exactly what she was thinking in this moment. No way, she shook her head.

"I think I can hear your thoughts. This is just great." Barry said, rolling his eyes. He didn't seem too happy about admitting this.

Caitlin wanted to join him but the only think she could think of is getting as far away from him as she can. There was no possible way to make sense of what's happening. It's all a figment of her imagination. Maybe she's still asleep on the floor.

"Something happened to you too. What?" Barry asked urgently, trying to get some answers.

Caitlin brought her index finger to her mouth. "Stop it. Stop _doing_ that. Just, ugh, leave me alone! God!"

She huffed turning around just as the elevator came to her floor. She somehow didn't feel like this was end, she was so engrossed in Barry following her around she almost crashed into the person in her way.

It was Jeanine, her overweight, ulcer ridden boss. She narrowed her near black eyes at Caitlin and pointed to the clock in the corner of the floor.

"Snow, you're late, _again_. This is going to come out of your hours. I can't believe I thought you would change since you came to work for us. Why do you make me constantly do this to you?"

"I'm, sorry?" Caitlin winced. Barry appeared next to her, watching the scene unfold. "I tried to get here as fast as I could."

"Well not fast enough, give me one reason why I shouldn't fire you right here and now?"

Caitlin started to speak but was interrupted. She shared a glance with Barry.

"Save it. I don't want to explain my reasons. I know you're just going to come up with excuse after excuse. I have an ex-husband that is currently eating away at my alimony. I'd rather listen to his dissertation than hear your drivel."

Caitlin bit her tongue back. She did that often when it came to Jeanine. She is nothing but a ruthless, hateful person. No one cared about her and she got away with harassing her co-workers on a daily basis. She complained endlessly because she could, no one could do anything about it. Tardiness was one of the many things that made her see red. Caitlin had to cope, just like the other times she was publicly berated.

"Alright..." Caitlin responded softly. Almost defeated. She wouldn't cry, she couldn't cry. Now that's all she wanted to do.

"Just get to work. I don't want to hear anything else. You're wasting my time already."

Barry looked on and grimaced at the scene in front of him, almost forgetting his initial mission. He felt bad for her. He didn't miss his work and his own boss and this lady ought to have a drink together.

Despondently Caitlin made her way to her work space, turning her computer on, paying no mind to the current annoying figure looming over her as she tried to pick herself up from being chastised.

"Maybe now isn't the best time to—"

"You're right, it _isn't_." Caitlin's eyes almost watered over as her tone reached from angry to practically begging. "Go away now."

Barry sighed; he wasn't sure what was really going on here. This girl—he looked around for a name tag around the cubicle and there was nothing. Not even little drawings that people would hang up from friends and families. He spied her logging into her name. She punched in "Caitlin S." and filled in her pass code. He could easily read her thoughts but he didn't want to draw attention, knowing that these people could not see him. He didn't want to get her into any more trouble than she is.

"Caitlin...that is your name, right? I know this is probably the worst timing ever. I don't know how or even why this is happening. I'm still trying to figure out why I'm out of my body."

Caitlin faced forward. She couldn't talk back, not that she would want to, people would see. She had to get rid of this guy, he was obviously not going anywhere. She had to think of something. Her attention was interrupted when her work wall received a knock. She looked up and saw Will, the resident personal mail room boy. He was around her age, his baby face pulled in concern; his hair was always the same style. He was your average entry level nerd pushing paper employee. He was the only person Caitlin tolerated here.

"Hey girl, want your letters now or later?"

Caitlin cleared her throat, knowing Barry was watching but did her best to forget he was there.

"Give them now, I'll forget later. Thanks." She smiled at him warmly.

He handed her a bundle of envelopes, almost waving off but called her attention once again.

"Hey I heard dragon lady breath is giving you a hard time. You know she's not allowed to do that to you."

"She's not allowed to do a lot of things, yet she does them. Don't worry about me."

"I can't help it." He said, brushing his straight mousy brown hair to the side. "It's not right. I wish she would stop doing that. She's got no grounds to take it personal. I'm sorry Caitlin."

She shook her head, not wanting to get him in trouble the longer he stayed around. "Don't worry, seriously. It doesn't bother me. She could fire me but she doesn't, that should say something."

"Yeah but you just came late, she acted like you took all her high end clients. She's abusive. None of us feel sorry for her anymore."

Caitlin opened up a new spreadsheet document and stored her mail in the section she normally placed it. She ran her hands through her hair and covered her face with her palms.

"I'm not going to be here forever." She blurted. She meant to keep that for herself but it was already too late. Will was the only person she trusted and now she felt remorse for leaving. "Eventually I mean."

Will's lopsided grin showed, "Hope not, we'd miss you."

"Maybe, I don't know. I should get started on this before she comes back. Not in a mood to be yelled at today. Not again anyhow."

Will nodded. "You got anything for that headache?"

"Head-how'd you know?"

"I know one when I see it. Here," he handed her his pain reliever as she took it and pushed it back to him. "Nah, keep it, find me later if you feel better."

Caitlin nodded softly, "Thank you. See you around."

Will winked her way before taking his time to turn around, handing out bundles of letters to various co-workers. Will was truly one of a kind. If it weren't for him she'd completely lose her mind and burn the place down.

She heard a noise behind her watching as Barry moved on her small area, leaning against the counter.

"Not again. Please bugger off." Caitlin grumbled, taking the pills from the bottle, washing it down with the water beside her.

"I need your help; I've been patient long enough here."

"So what? You think I owe you something? I don't, I have no idea why you're just appearing out of nowhere. It's annoying. Clearly you work for Jeanine and you were sent to annoy me." Caitlin went over her itinerary, having no luck since Barry was eye balling her every move.

"I have no idea who Jeanine is. She sounds like an insufferable twat. I don't even know what this place is, where I am. But I know you can hear and see me. That's all I know. I just need to make sense of what's happening. Somehow this is real; it's freaking me out too."

Caitlin sighed and scoffed simultaneously. "I want you out! Out, out, out! I'm serious!"

Barry came down to her level, looking around the office, noticing the staring and placed his finger over his lips. "People are staring, you have to be quiet." Barry said in a hushed voice.

He could see Caitlin's anger flare up and brought his hands on top of her shoulders.

"Look, all of this is fucking nuts, _we_ both know it. But it's real. Meet me at Central City Hospital if you don't believe me. I'll be waiting there. Please, I don't know what else to say." Barry's voice cracked, he couldn't cry in this form but he felt the familiar emotions still. "I don't know what else to do."

Caitlin searched his eyes, unblinking, looking at her as if he meant it. She bit her lip, this was a lot to process, even for her.

She swallowed, the painful truth might be staring right in front of her and she just wanted him be rational about this.

"I need time, I can't do this..." Caitlin tried to explain, trailing off as she looked away. "I can't..."

Caitlin wiped her eyes, feeling the shiver of cold wind fan her frame as she looked in front of her.

He was gone. She never heard him leave. Her throat grew tight and her body stilled as the shiver returned, giving her gradual goose bumps.

"Caitlin!" She heard from behind her cubicle. "Hey, can you hear me? Who are you talking to?"

A random middle-aged co-worker she hardly recognized raised an eyebrow, standing near a group of people staring her way.

Caitlin forced her voice to answer. How long were they standing there?

"Nobody—it's nobody." She said, the words flowing through a filter of stupor and incredulous realization.


	5. Chapter 5

During the late evening Caitlin was one of the last people to leave work. It was getting down to the wire and she decided to take over time, mainly because of the money. She was underpaid as is and behind on many bills that were probably going to get shut off. The good news is Jeanine barely came around to bother her. She didn't have to. Her assistants always come by to do the barking at the employees. Caitlin called them "Jeanine's flying monkeys." Hardly any of them pounced on her today. She was mainly by herself shoveling through paperwork and data statistics.

Caitlin nearly forgot the other thing that happened this morning. Unfortunate mishap, she still believed she was hallucinating from when she woke up. There was no way that man who appeared to her, Barry Allen, was real. Even she came close to believing he actually existed in her mind. But she actually could see his ghost? That was ludicrous.

As Caitlin made her way out the building she did a double check around her to make sure nobody was following her. She stopped listening to her music when she was out walking in the dark. She hadn't cut her nails in weeks so she figured she'd use that and the unopened bottle of pepper spray she stuck at the bottom of her purse.

Making her way to the same train that took her here, she got on the express way, thanking her lucky stars that she managed to get on before last call forced her to take the long way back. She took her seat in the far corner as usual; not particularly looking at anyone but keeping her senses alert for any weirdness akin to what occurred this morning. Caitlin will probably never get over what happened to her. She couldn't get her mind off Barry and what he wanted her to do. She couldn't possibly listen to a mere figment of her imagination. The more she thought about it the more it didn't make sense so she decided to drop it.

When she arrived at her stop she decided to put off going to the store for food and just eat whatever is left over in her fridge. She didn't have the energy to even buy what she needed. She just wanted to soak under a hot shower and dive under the covers for the night, putting all the ballyhoo today behind her.

She made it to the front door, trying to avoid interactions with her neighbors. When she closed and locked the door she breathed in a sigh of relief, trying to calm her mind down. There was no way she could see what she saw, no way. She'd have to be one of those mediums she kept hearing about on infomercials. Caitlin was far from that tomfoolery. She didn't believe in any of that stuff anyway.

Just as she was about to settle in she received a text message from her friend Will and smiled at him worrying about her. She didn't mind when he did that but if it was anyone else, she would feel slightly off put. She sent him a farewell text and threw her phone on the couch.

Walking in the kitchen she got out whatever was left over from a few days ago. She hadn't eaten much and normally she felt like binging as she watched prime time chat shows until falling asleep in front of the TV. She threw something random in the microwave and turned on the kettle for some herbal tea.

Being alone wasn't so bad; she thought she could get used to it now that things in her personal life have slowed down. Not that she worried about having a personal life, there wasn't much of a life, it just was. People her age were still keeping up with the latest parties, mixers and gatherings. She was invited to a couple weddings from work but there was no point in showing up if she was just going sulk in a corner of the reception and practically leave early so she can get a head start on sleep before it was taken away from her the next morning. Caitlin tried to be the life of the party but it just wasn't in the cards for her.

Maybe if she made an effort it would mean something but now, Caitlin didn't fuss over finding a boyfriend. Everybody ultimately will leave anyway; there was no use to starting something that is just going to expire eventually. Silly sap filled notion that everyone was guaranteed someone in their lives. Caitlin begged to differ. If only most of the population would stop worrying so much about finding someone, they might have a little more perspective and she'd consider becoming more affected from being stood up.

Her ringtone jolted her suddenly and she turned it off not wanting to speak to anyone. She just wanted to bask in her solitude. There was nothing wrong with enjoying the very few private moments she was granted. Her noisy neighbors weren't trying to test the limits of their walls. It sounded like everyone was either not home or asleep. Caitlin preferred it that way. There was a breeze outside before she walked in but even that was soundless. It was like the universe was quiet on her command. It must be Caitlin's lucky day; aside from the morning.

She rolled her eyes pushing those thoughts away and pulled the food out of the microwave. She covered it with a large plate to keep it warm and turned off the kettle making her tea to set it to the side. She hesitated before diving in just yet and decided to take a shower first before anything else. She didn't want to be too tired to take one in the morning and having to struggle to style, groom and paint make up on. It would just get it out of the way and save herself the time and energy.

She stripped her clothing, discarding them in the hamper and stepped into the silky warmth of the shower. She soaked for a good few minutes allowing her mind to eventually slow down with the temperature of her body. She didn't think about much but in the middle of her conditioner rinse, there was a face that popped up. It was that guy from earlier, Barry. She shook her head and finished the last bit of cleaning until she figured it was enough.

Stepping out of the shower and into a soft towel she rubbed her face and hair until water droplets were rung away. She had no idea why her mind, even in its relaxed state was stuck on that annoying guy from earlier. For a second she considered what he was saying to be true. She winced, making a face at that possibility. Not on this planet. What happened wasn't fully and completely just a mental hallucination. It explained why her co-workers had been looking her way strangely for the rest of the work day. Caitlin scoffed and got dressed for bed, pulling away from that occurrence all together.

She took a towel to her hair, drying out the last of the wetness and almost yelped two feet in the air when she nearly crashed into something.

"Oh hiya. You didn't show up. Figured you wouldn't believe me." Barry Allen said, rolling his eyes as he planted his lanky body over her couch. "What's on TV?" His eyes shifted to Caitlin, she thought he was staring at her legs.

Caitlin instinctively covered her half clothed body with her hands. She grimaced when she realized she wasn't naked but it certainly felt like she was.

 _Not again_ , she thought, just when she was beginning to put this morning behind her.

She threw the towel over the chair. " _You_ again, what do you want? Can't even believe I'm actually asking a spook that."

Barry looked hurt. "What? You think I'm a ghost? Shows how much you know."

Caitlin stared at him as if he said something really dumb. She gave him a judging look and he held up his hands.

"Whatever, I'm not a ghost or anything. My body is still, well, I'm not dead, like %100 dead yet. Clearly I know who I am so it's not a _Just Like Heaven_ situation. Trust me when I say this is temporary."

This was like the imaginary friend scenario minus the actual friend part and going straight to imaginary. Who knew Caitlin's life had already turned into a Stephen King novel. Was she Mort Rainy? She was already hearing and seeing things that weren't there. She hoped murdering people and hiding them in a corn field wasn't on her priority list later.

"You know, I could still hear you even though you aren't saying anything. Man, you're one negative person. Seriously, wow..." Barry almost laughed until he saw Caitlin's deadpan face. "Sorry it's just, you seem like you're always pissed off. Hey, at least you're not on the brink of death. You got the better deal."

Caitlin half smiled, trying not to be phased by this guy. "I didn't realize my thoughts bothered anyone before." She eyed him. "No one could hear them."

"I could definitely stay out if you prefer." Barry said, leaning back on her couch, making himself comfortable.

"Yes, I definitely think you should stay out of my head, you weren't invited."

"I'm not asking, _Caitlin_ , is it? Just stating a fact. I could use some positive thoughts right before I'm going to die. Damn, I was only getting started too. What a cluster fuck." Barry threw his hands up and Caitlin was wondering when this was going to be over. "None of this is making sense. I wish there was more I could do, but well, look at where I am now?" Barry threw up his hands as Caitlin shot him a strange look.

She willfully ignored his pleas for help, lamenting. "Oh god. This is like _Casper the Friendly Ghost_ meets Stephen King. If I'm asleep, please let me wake up from this. I'm begging you!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration as she plopped down on the couch beside Barry.

"You think I'm not just as confused as you? Come on now. Clearly you don't watch the news, apparently my name is splashed everywhere if you still don't buy it and no I don't have a twin out there."

Caitlin gave a look of disgust and switched on the local news, attempting to ignore Barry until the eyewitness news anchor came on the screen. She turned up the volume and listened in, awaiting the usual news she would normally otherwise hear.

"Good evening, Jovanna Lara with a prime time eyewitness news brief, following up the story on the son of Allen industries, Barry Allen, still remains in critical condition. Channel 7 spoke with Henry Allen, his statement is as follows..."

The camera showed a man, rugged and perfectly in distraught. He barely looked like he could function let alone give a statement. A few microphones were placed in front of his mouth as he began to speak. Caitlin and Barry leaned in to listen, Caitlin's eyes narrowed.

"No word is said and done yet. We are choosing to remain optimistic. My son, Barry deserves to be left alone. This is all I will be saying. No further questions. We..." His voice broke slightly as the woman beside him, presumable Barry's mother, held his hand tightly. "We wish the press to respect our privacy at this time." They shared a look and embracing each other before turning the other direction.

"I've never seen my dad so sad." Barry whispered.

They watched as the Allen's attorneys held their hands up, barricading the reporters from following Henry and his wife, Nora. Caitlin didn't know what to say. It still all sounded crazy. There was no way he was the same Barry Allen she'd seen before laying in a coma. Through her peripheral vision she spied the man beside her, claiming to be the son of the wealthy air of Allen Industries.

She side eyed his clothing. Office space wardrobe. Nothing rich or posh about him. He looked as blue collar as can be; the opposite of what she assumed someone coming from money would resemble. Her eyes remained as large as saucers. They grew bigger when he turned around.

"You can stop staring; I know you don't believe me. This is so fucked up. I don't even know what I'm gonna do now." Barry sighed, feeling exhausted.

Caitlin was conflicted. She bit her tongue when she wanted to say something but followed through anyway, every minute of this was crazy nevertheless she responded.

"I just..." Caitlin trailed off, clearly her dry throat. "This has never happened to me before. You coming here, appearing out of nowhere. Following me around my work. Acting like I should believe this. How do you think I should react? My co-workers are asking if I need to see a psychiatrist! I've never been so embarrassed in my life. You humiliated me. And now you want me to help you?"

Barry winced, holding his face in his hands, doubling over. He couldn't look at her. There was no possible thing he could do to hope she believed him. He hesitated before standing up in her living room in thought. He didn't have a clue what he was going to do but he had to think fast.

She watched him, still in disbelief that she's actually looking at an apparition. A big piece of her was still in denial.

"If..." Caitlin said, almost regretting it as it was coming out. Barry looked at her, holding on to what she said. "If you are Barry Allen, and by some reason I'm the only one who can see and hear you, why was I picked? Can you explain that to me? You seem to have all the answers. Tell me, why is it me that is supposed to help you? Why should I care about any of this?"

Barry didn't have an answer.

"Great...now I just feel like I'm going really crazy, imagining things that aren't there. Even a ghost is ignoring me." She crossed arms.

Barry's mind blanked, this was a disaster. How was he going to convince her that he's telling the truth? If only there was a way to—

"Wait!"

"What?" Caitlin asked apprehensively.

"I think I have an idea."

"What? You know how this happened?"

Barry shook his head. "No, how I can prove it to you. About all this."

Caitlin didn't appear thrilled to hear that. She wasn't enthusiastic about hearing his plan.

"Oh god, do I have to be dragged into this?"

Barry looked amused. "Seriously? You go to work, come back and eat left overs for dinner. Don't tell me you don't rinse and repeat this every day? How motivating. You seriously got something better to do?"

Caitlin said nothing; it's not as if she was ashamed of living a boring, mundane life; but hearing someone else judge it made her feel weary.

Barry sat down near her again, almost taking her hand but holding back. She looked like she wanted nothing to do with him; she didn't even need to think it. This was going to be more challenging than Barry thought. But it could convince her he wasn't lying about his identity.

"I feel like this is my last straw. I don't know why you are the only one who can see and hear me; but I need to make you understand something. I am the same guy on the news. I am Barry Allen. My real name is Bartholomew. My dad is Henry Allen, my mother is Nora Allen. I have no brothers or sisters. I'm from New York originally until my dad relocated for his firm in Central City to do business with other wealthy investors. My girlfriend Olivia—"

Caitlin scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Girlfriend? Someone dates you?"

"Someone nearly _married_ me. Don't go there."

Caitlin waved him off, slightly annoyed. Barry begrudgingly continued.

"Anyway, this is who I am. You can look me up. Google me if you have to. Search the schools I went to. My friends. My social security. My wedding date, only I would know that since I told it to my friends. I have two passports. British and American. Hell, I'll even throw in my pin number. My safety deposit box. That's not including my trust fund and life insurance in case I die."

"Life insurance? How rich are you?" Caitlin finally asked, half caring about his situation.

"It's more than enough. My mom took it out before moving out of the house. As soon as I turned 21 my trust fund was linked to the life insurance. Once I die it reverts to the sole heir, my girlfriend's name was included. She must have talked with my attorneys, made sure she was the sole beneficiary. I can't _believe_ she would do that!"

The more Caitlin heard, the more her thoughts circled around the possibility of seeing into this deeper.

Barry hung his hand in his hands again, getting more worried by the second. "It's pointless if you believe none of this."

"Wait..." She paused, gathering all the evidence so far, only from what he told her. "So you're saying all this money will go to your fiancé? So? Why do you care?"

"Because it's malpractice. She spoke with my attorney's before the accident. I never put her on the life insurance. I was still deciding then. My parents are the only ones who are still on there. I wanted them to have it. My aunt warned me about this! She must have messed with it."

"Who?"

"Olivia, Liv, my girlfriend. Er—fiancé. She only wanted me for my—" He couldn't finish the sentence. It was embarrassing for him even in front of a total stranger. "I was so stupid to believe it was me she wanted this whole time. I should have known." Barry said dejectedly.

Caitlin grimaced; painfully surprised she was showing an ounce of empathy to this man. There was something about his eyes, they looked somber, raw and too valid to ignore. She hadn't seen eyes like his and it was making her shiver.

"OK...say, there's a slight chance I don't think I'm off my gourd here, what are you going to do? With everything I mean?"

Barry shook out of his glum memory and sighed heavily. "I don't know, I can't do anything like this. My body is still on rigorous life support now. I checked my vitals, I'm not improving, I don't think my mom would stick it out for me. I don't even know about my dad, I hope he wouldn't. I don't know what they are thinking right now. They wouldn't take me off, no, I don't believe that, but God! Olivia would. I'm pretty sure I'm fucked here."

Caitlin bit her lip and placed her chin over her palm. She couldn't believe she was actually going to say it but she felt it come out of her mouth in spite of herself.

"Maybe I could make sure she doesn't get anything."

Barry almost slowly turned around; his expression in pure shock mode. He was unsure of what to say to that.

"What?"

"I could...maybe I could, get involved? Ugh! I know I'm gonna regret this." Caitlin's replied in a sour tone.

Barry observed her, still in disbelief that she actually wanted to help him; he was going to test this to make sure she wasn't lying.

"I don't even know what you could do. What's your plan? How do I know you're actually going to help?"

Caitlin felt that shivering feeling in the pit of her stomach, saying the first thought that came to mind.

"Because I've seen the movie _Ghost_ and I wanna god damn sleep."


	6. Chapter 6

 

Barry thought Caitlin needed more time to sort everything out. The truth was, he was running out of time as it is.

His body was still on critical life support and he knew he needed to act fast. He didn't blame Caitlin for not knowing what to do, she said she'd find a way to handle this, but nothing was happening.

Barry would just watch her, at work, when she came home, any time she went out. It was clear he wasn't going to leave her side since she was the only person alive who could see him; whither she could help him is still an issue.

He stopped listening in on her thoughts, he promised he wasn't going to do that anymore or touch her without permission. Caitlin set rules and Barry agreed to follow them if he was going to work with her. She was his only hope; he had no one, nothing. His own family wanted to nearly give up.

This stranger, she had to know something; he was itching to peek inside her head to figure it out. Sooner or later nothing will change.

Barry came into her living room, the awful Lipton soup smell was wafting in the air, it was amazing he could still smell. He saw her coming in with a basket and calmly started the task. It had become routine for him to just watch her. Caitlin was well aware of it but it wasn't something she could get used to. She paid no mind to it but knowing he was there made things awkward. The only people who ever watched her this much was her boss; she didn't want to feel like she was back at work again. Now her privacy didn't belong to her anymore. That and along with the weird headache she had a few days ago...

Caitlin was in the middle of doing chores when Barry cleared his throat to get her attention. This was the first time since they spoke last he did anything to get her attention. Caitlin briefly looked his way then turned her cheek back to her duties. This was not the way he wanted things to go.

"I don't have much time left, you know..." He almost croaked, not expecting the sheer crack in his tone. "I was hoping you would actually help me."

Caitlin paused and went to reach for the pile of clothes she just did and sat on the couch, folding the pile.

She sighed; there was no right way to say what she wanted to say so she just came out with it.

"I don't really know what to do honestly." Caitlin caught his eyes, going back to folding, taking clothes up much faster now. "This was just dumped on me and now it's my responsibility to fix everything. It doesn't work like that."

Barry smiled incredulously. "So that's it? This is how you deal with everything in life when it gets rough? If you don't know what to do, you just _give_ up?"

"To put it bluntly, _what_ am I supposed to do?" She snipped at him, abruptly folding her clothes and tossing them angrily in the basket.

Barry paced and covered his face. He couldn't believe he actually thought she would be the answer. He shook his head, not believing it to be true.

"I don't see that. Even if you have no one, something has to make you care. What do I have to do to convince you?" Barry demanded.

Caitlin's eyes shifted, she didn't like the way he was talking to her and it wasn't like she had all the answers. She was barely coming to terms with the fact that she could actually see, hear and touch a ghost. She avoided his glare and finished the pile, standing up and walking to her room placing the basket down.

She turned around and almost crashed into Barry. Shaking, she should have known he would be on her tail.

"I can't handle this right now. I don't know what exactly I'm supposed to do. I don't know why this is happening to me...why you're here." She ran through his spirit and charged back to the living room. "Just, ugh, I can't handle all this."

"Sorry, look, we need a plan, we need something, and you said you had one, would you just making that up or...?"

She looked at him as he became worried. She could read it in his eyes. He was concerned he may never come back. He didn't have to hear his thoughts to see the hopelessness in his eyes glaring back at her.

Caitlin groaned and sighed harshly, "No, when you told me what you said about your ex and everything I thought I had an idea, but...this is gonna sound crazy."

Barry smirked and gestured between her and him. "Crazier than this? Try me."

She look at him worried, concern she was going to regret saying what she was about to say.

"In order for something to happen, I need to make people believe that I know you, that I am _close_ to you. This is the plan I had and I'm sure about it, I've known about the Allens, there's talk about that family, I know how ruthless they can be. What are they gonna say when they find out someone from your past just showed up right when you are in critical condition? Are they going to believe me? What do I say? There's no telling what this would do, tell me what to do. I'm...I feel like they won't believe me..."

Barry listened carefully as she trailed off, the silence was making him skeptical that the plan she had would actually work. But he had to do anything to make sure Olivia never touched the blood money.

"Maybe they will. That's a start. I know my parents don't know everything about my life, especially my girlfriends in high school. I hid those well."

"Girlfriends?" Caitlin raised an eyebrow.

Barry rolled his eyes in disbelief that he had to go back there. "If you must know yes, girlfriends, as in more than one. I was...a bit of a serial dater back in high school. A lot of it had to do with rebelling, my parents ignored me growing up, they were always busy. I needed the attention, yes, I was obsessed OK? I was an asshole. But I wanted something serious recently, with Olivia, what a shit storm that turned out to be. Got a taste of my own medicine."

Caitlin folded her arms across her body. "Guess now you know how it feels to be used."

 _And you're probably gonna use me, which wouldn't be the first time a man has done that,_ she thought. Barry listened in on accident hearing everything. He bit his lip, looking her way.

"I'm not."

"What?" she sneered.

"I'm not using you, Caitlin."

"You said you would stay out of my head."

"I know, I...there's just—there has to be a reason why I'm here. I just need your help. I don't know who else to turn to. It feels like everyone is against me, even like this, on the brink of death."

Caitlin cringed before asking but did it anyway. "How do you know you're going to die? You keep saying this as if any minute now..."

"I've done nothing but watch my lifeless body. I'm barely hanging on. The doctors are doing nothing but waiting. I'm not even sure the machines are working on me. I feel...stuck like this, and it doesn't seem to be improving. My life is hanging on by so little. Even if we try to somehow convince my parents you know me, if all this actually works, what's to say I'm coming back from the accident? So much has happened already."

Caitlin paused, listening to him as he spoke about his. Deep down she wanted to solve this, her thoughts were springing back to the worst case scenarios. She covered her face before heading to the kitchen to fix herself some hot tea. She needed time to think. It seemed like an impossible request to ask for more time but she forced herself to be confident nevertheless.

She looked up and he was there, watching her set the kettle on. She took a deep breath, sighing as she formed her words.

"I know...I know you've been through a lot. Even if I barely know you, I can tell, I can sense you've been hurt by people. You know it's weird, I thought you were this snotty jerk. Now I think you're a—"

"Desperate jerk?" Barry finished with a smile he sent her way.

Caitlin smirked. "I was just gonna say misunderstood..."

Barry looked to her as if there was more she wanted to say.

"...jerk. But we'll go with your answer. Seems more direct."

Barry sighed, anxious about what really will happen. His face turned as he thought he heard voices. He looked to the living room and nothing was on.

 _Hmm, strange_ , he thought.

"What's wrong?" Caitlin asked as Barry looked at her. "Oh, yeah, OK, so, I guess, alright...there needs to be a plan if this is going to work."

"Anything. Go on."

She winced before turning the kettle off quickly so he could hear her.

"Since you're, or you _have_ been a serial dater, this shouldn't be a problem. Oh my god I cannot believe I'm actually suggesting this."

"Caitlin stop fucking around, what is it? Tell me already."

She bit her lip, staring directly in his eyes and took a monstrous deep breath.

"You're parents need to believe I know you. The only way for that to happen is...I need to be your girlfriend." She winced as she told him.

Barry almost laughed at she said that. It sounded like someone told her to date someone she was forced into dating.

But he was running out of options. And she was willing to do it. She was the one who suggested it. He looked in her eyes and thought about it for a few seconds.

"OK, clearly this is going to be interesting... _for you_."

She grit her teeth and turned her back on him, pouring herself a cup of tea. "If it gets you out of my life, yes, I am willing to do almost anything."

"Oh, that's harsh. How dare you say that to your ex." Caitlin sent him a glare. "Clearly our break up did not end well."

"Well, we can't say that. No we, just me. You're the dead guy here."

Barry raised his finger in the air, "Uh undead spirit."

Caitlin took her tea cup and walked to the living room, sitting down slowly. Barry was there before she could blink.

She set her tea down and grabbed her forehead. "Can't believe I'm agreeing to do any of this..."

Barry watched her in agony. He really was running out of time. This might be the plan that could be foul proof if it's structured.

"You know, for what it's worth, I wouldn't want to date me either..." he admitted.

Caitlin looked up through her hair, confused. "What?"

"Just seeing who I am from other people's perspective. I didn't realize I turned into _this_ guy. People only used me as a personal piggy bank. I don't mean anything to anyone. I wouldn't have believed it even if I saw proof. But I'm willing to try anything. If only to see Olivia gets nothing that's mine. I'm trying to right some wrongs here. I need your help Caitlin."

Caitlin looked at him, it was weird she could see his flesh as if he were real, but he wasn't. Her mind was playing tricks on her. She gulped, sinking lower into the couch cushions, hating the fact that her humanity won over this time. She cleared her throat, steering her personal regret in a side cupboard for the time being.

"So...what's your favorite movie?"


End file.
